Absorbent articles such as disposable diapers, incontinence products, catamenial products, and the like are widely used and much effort has been expended to improve the effectiveness and functionality of these articles. In general such articles have a fluid pervious topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent core between the topsheet and backsheet.
Conventional topsheets used in absorbent articles typically exhibit a tradeoff between fluid acquisition/retention performance of the topsheet and comfort of the topsheet against the wearer's skin. When worn, different portions of absorbent articles might be designed deliver different benefits. For instance, in the center portion of an absorbent article, a topsheet having a high fluid acquisition rate might be desirable. Further, in the center portion of an absorbent article, a topsheet having limited rewet might be desirable so that the wearer does not feel a sticky sensation against her labia. For portions other than the center portion of an absorbent article, a surface texture that is soft and supple might be desirable so as to reduce chafing that might occur as the wearer moves and the peripheral parts of an absorbent article rub against the wearer's body.
When worn, absorbent articles generally conform to the three-dimensional shape of the wearer's body. In the crotch region of a woman, there are a variety of curved features. For instance, where the legs join the trunk of the person in the crotch, there are portions where there are curved boundaries between the legs and the trunk. The labial region of a woman's crotch also tends to be defined by a region having curved boundaries. For absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins designed to be worn in the crotch region of a woman to capture fluid discharged from her vagina, the absorbent article can be attached to the woman's panty and flaps attached to the absorbent article might be wrapped about edges of the crotch region of the woman's panty. The leg openings of the crotch region of common panties tend to be curved and the body facing surface of absorbent articles generally conform to this curve when worn.
Commonly available absorbent articles tend to have topsheets in which the surface of the topsheet is generally uniform. The reasons for this include that less expensive materials can be used as the topsheet and manufacturing costs can tend to be lower.
Accordingly, there is a continuing unaddressed need for absorbent articles having a topsheet in which different portions of the topsheet have different characteristics that provide different benefits in different portions of the topsheet.